Bengaluru: The Karnataka caste census, which has created furore among dominant communities after its contents came into public domain, has left the ruling Congress a divided house, with many community leaders calling it “unscientific” and urging the govt to junk it.
The leaked report has recommended to the state govt to increase the reservation matrix for backward castes from the current 32% to 51%. It has cited that Muslims — as an individual community — have a population of 75.7 lakh of Karnataka’s 5.9 crore population. Or, the community constitutes nearly 12.6% of the total population recorded in 2015 when the survey was conducted. The report has suggested that the community must get 8% reservation as against the existing 4% under category IIB.
The report has said that under category III(A), which includes Vokkaligas and two other dominant communities, the population is placed at 73 lakh and should be given a 7% reservation. It has stated that under category III (B), which comprises Veerashaiva-Lingayats and five other major communities, the total population is 81.3 lakh, with a recommend reservation of 8%.
Outside of this, the largest community in Karnataka, according to the survey, are the Scheduled Castes with a population of nearly 1.1 crore and 108 sub-castes within them. As a result, the total reservation for all the communities would increase to 70% (including 15% for SC and 7.5% for ST communities) from the existing 50% reservation in the state.
On Sunday, the cabinet ministers were all delivered a copy of the survey report to study and prepare for the special cabinet meeting on April 17 to deliberate on the matter.
Responding to senior Congressman and All-India Veerashaiva Mahasabha president Shamanur Shivashankarappa’s claim that the report was “unscientific” and that “no one from the survey team ever came” to his residence to collect data, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar was cryptic in his response: “Everyone is trying to safeguard their communities. I will not stop them (as it’s their democratic right to do so). On April 17, the cabinet will discuss the issue. The CM has said legislators will be allowed to debate the matter in the assembly. We will not rush into it.”
About the Vokkaliga community being considered the sixth largest in the state, Shivakumar said he is KPCC president and it’s his responsibility to ensure “justice is delivered to all communities”.
Industries minister and Lingayat leader MB Patil hinted at mismatch between the ground realities and the survey findings. “It is nobody’s fault that the Lingayat numbers have fallen in the survey. Members of some Lingayat community sub-castes have (in a fine slicing of sub-caste identity) declared themselves as Hindu Ganiga, Hindu Banajiga, Hindu Sadaras for the sake of 2A reservation benefits. If we take all of them into account and also Lingayats recorded under 3B, then their population number crosses 1 crore. The cabinet meeting will discuss all these finer points,” he said.
Earlier, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge refused to comment on the caste census, saying he has not read the report and would offer comments after the Karnataka cabinet deliberates on it.
BJP targeted the Congress govt for minority appeasement. “This report reeks of the CM dictating the numbers to census author H Kantharaju. If not, there is no way Muslims are declared the ‘majority community’ in the state,” said opposition leader R Ashoka. Union minister Pralhad Joshi dismissed the survey as unscientific, saying Congress leaders themselves are calling for a relook.